Announced in Cape Town, a new collaboration between Cassava Technologies and Axon Networks will see Axon’s AI-ready, real-time, multi-tenant platform deployed across Cassava’s fibre backbone. The initiative is aimed at supporting artificial intelligence adoption, digital transformation and new service models for businesses and telecommunications providers across the continent.
The platform is designed to shift network operations away from hardware-led infrastructure toward programmable, AI-managed systems. According to Cassava, this approach will allow customer networks to be provisioned and modified in near real time, reducing manual processes and lowering operational costs.
Hardy Pemhiwa, president and group chief executive officer of Cassava Technologies, says the partnership repositions the company’s pan-African fibre network as a digital platform rather than solely a connectivity layer.
“As businesses of all sizes continue to digitise their operations, the need is for cost-effective, flexible, high-performance network solutions,” Pemhiwa says.
“By partnering with Axon Networks, we are creating a programmable, AI-managed network that reduces operational complexity and improves access for customers and service providers.”
The companies say the model is intended to help operators scale services, improve agility and support AI-driven workloads.
Martin Manniche, chief executive officer and founder of Axon Networks, says the integration of digital twin technology at infrastructure scale is central to the offering.
“We’re virtualising network infrastructure into a live, AI-driven environment,” Manniche says. “This creates the foundation for an AI-enabled connectivity layer that can support growth, innovation and greater technological self-sufficiency across the continent.”
Axon’s platform creates a digital twin of Cassava’s network, which includes more than 110,000 kilometers of terrestrial and submarine fibre, as well as satellite and wireless capacity. The companies say this approach is designed to automate optimisation, improve resilience and accelerate service delivery.
The partnership comes as demand continues to grow for AI-ready infrastructure and advanced connectivity services to support the digital transformation of African enterprises.
